From Red Hair to Crimsom Eyes
by Aranae
Summary: A seemingly easy mission ends up triggering one of the most confusing events of Vincent and Reno's lives. What would you do if you'd wake up being someone else? I suck at summaries, I know. R&R. Absolutely no yaoi! OC's included.
1. Switch!

**I****ntroduction**

This story takes place in the same universe as my other two stories. The events here happen a year after the regular timeline of Ghost of the Past, Shadows of the Future. I highly recommend you to read my others stories before starting with this one. Anyway, if you're too lazy to read them, all you need to know is this: Vincent and Lilah met after he defeated Omega, they eventually fell in love and now they have a baby girl. I know, it sounds crappy, but it's totally different if you actually read the other stories. There were a lot of things going on before everything ended up like this. However, this time the story revolves around Vincent and Reno, and Lilah is just a secondary character now, that's why I don't consider it as sequel. I hope you enjoy it!

**DISCLAIMER: **As you already know, I only own Lilah, Riley and other OC's that will eventually appear. Square Enix owns the rest. I hate them.

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**From Red Hair to Crimsom Eyes**

**Switch!**

"Awww… How cute!"

"Look at that!"

"Is that Vincent Valentine?"

Vincent tried to pretend he didn't hear the comments, but it was getting on his nerves. He loved his daughter, but she definitely called too much attention on the street. Riley just giggled every time someone wanted to take a look at Vincent Valentine's baby. People would usually recognize him on the street. Well, he had saved the world a couple of years before! He'd preferred to stay at home or abroad on some missions instead of walking down the street during the day carrying his little girl. He was about to pick his gun to make his way through the crowd when he realized he was already a few feet from his destination.

The WRO headquarters were by far the best place for training, but as it was located outside the city and it was getting expensive to send vehicles for the trainees everyday, Reeve had decided to arrange a warehouse for this purpose in Edge. The place didn't look too flashy. Its walls were plain grey and it had a medium sized board outside that read 'WRO Training Facility' under an iron gate. There were also two WRO soldiers standing next to the door, a man and a woman.

"Mr. Vincent Valentine. Welcome." One of the soldiers said once Vincent had reached the main entrance.

"Is Lilah available?" Vincent asked while preventing her six-month old daughter from taking one of the small buckles of his cloak to her mouth. The female soldier contained her laugh.

"Miss Phoenix is about to end a training session. You can wait for her in the hall way." The soldier answered. Vincent shot the young girl an angry look and entered the building.

"Phoenix." Vincent muttered.

It's been almost a year since the day she was not longer harboring the guardian force, and she hated being called that since then. Even though they were not married, she had started to call herself Lilah Valentine. He didn't mind. It was sort of awkward at the beginning, but he got used to it. However, some people still called her by her old last name.

Riley looked at him with her blue eyes wide opened.

"What?" He said. She just giggled once again.

He walked down the hallway until he reached another iron door. As usual, he heard the sound of swords clashing to each other. He was waiting for Lilah's class to finish when his cell phone rang. He held Riley with his left arm and picked his mobile. The name 'Reeve Tuesti' could be read in the screen.

"Reeve, what's the matter?" Vincent said after pushing the answer button.

"Is Reno there yet?"

"No… Why should he be here?"

"… Don't worry. He'll brief you about the situation. Good luck."

Vincent hoped this new mission Reeve had given him was to be done only by him and not by Reno too. He preferred to work alone.

In the moment he was putting his phone away, some trainees came out of the room next to him. Then, Lilah walked out too.

"What are you two doing here?" She said, smiling brightly. Riley immediately stretched her little arms towards her mother. Vincent handed Lilah the baby, and she gave him a quick peck on his lips.

"Reeve called me this morning. He wants me to check on the mako reactor in Fort Condor."

"Really? What happened? It's been inactive for years, as far as I know!"

"Reeve told me people has been acting in an unusual way in the area. They suspect is because of the reactor."

"Wow! That's creepy. You'll be careful, right?" Lilah said, looking concerned. Since Vincent had almost died fighting Murdoch a year before, she was extremely worried every time he was out in a mission.

"Of course." He whispered.

"Oh! By the way, Reno was looking for you. He's acting funny… Maybe he's drunk again."

"I think Reeve wants Reno in the mission too."

"That'll be interesting!" Lilah said, laughing.

"Hmph… Where is he?"

"He said something about hiding in a truck. I think I saw a WRO truck parked in the back alley. He must be there."

"…Right."

They were still talking when another group of trainees entered the building.

"So… When are you coming back?" Lilah asked Vincent.

"Tonight, I think."

"Ok, I have to go now. I wonder how I will handle the baby during the training… I'll figure out something!"

"See you then." Vincent said and started to walk out of the building.

"You're forgetting something!" Lilah said. Vincent turned around and looked at her. "I want a kiss." She said, smiling.

He went back to her side and kissed her on her lips.

"Promise me you'll take care." She said looking at him seriously.

"I will." He said and left the place.

* * *

Reno was lying in the backseat of the WRO truck. The stereo was playing music out loud and he was moving his head to the rhythm. He jumped nervously when he heard the door was being open.

"Valentine! You scared the hell outta me! You didn't see any scary guys around, did you?" He said after Vincent jumped inside the truck.

"No. What are you doing here?"

Reno sighed in relief.

"We'll be partners, just for now. Don't get used to it."

"I won't." Vincent said and sighed.

"So… Ready for some ol' Turks style action?

"…Whatever."

"Joe! Come on, we're ready!" Reno yelled.

"My name's Mike!" Someone said from the driver's side.

"Yeah, you… Let's go." Reno said, laughing nervously as the truck started moving.

The WRO truck left them outside Edge, where one of ex Shinra choppers was waiting for them. Two hours after that, they were arriving at Fort Condor.

The area had sure changed in the last few years. What used to be almost a military camp was now a peaceful village where humans lived in harmony with nature. However, something seemed odd in the small town. The streets were empty and only a few men were in the main entrance of the village to welcome the WRO staff.

"So, What's the problem here, yo? Where's everyone?" Reno asked the man who approached to them as soon as the got off from the helicopter.

"Hum… The villagers prefer to wait for you to solve the situation in the reactor before coming out of their houses… Strange things have been going on up there." The man explained.

"Strange things?" Vincent asked.

"Yes. Whoever goes up there comes back acting weird."

"You can leave that to us, we have experience handling weird stuff." Reno said and started walking up the hill towards the reactor.

Nothing seemed out of order in the old mako reactor. There were some fiends, as usual, but nothing out of the ordinary. That was only until they saw the huge jelly like creature coming out of the reactor itself. Bullet's wouldn't hurt it, Vincent found out that the hard way. But that was not going to make them give up. Reno hit it with his rod and discovered it was vulnerable to light element. Once they'd found out about that, the creature was doomed.

"Do you think that was the problem?" Reno asked Vincent, as he kneeled next to the dead fiend.

"… I don't know." Vincent said.

"Hey! Look at that!" Reno pointed out. The just defeated monster seemed to be shrinking to at least half of its size. Both Vincent and Reno could notice a blue shiny materia inside of it.

"It seems that it was the problem after all."

"Yeah!" Reno picked up a broken pipe from the floor and started to pick at the corpse with it.

"What are you doing?"

"I want the freakin' materia."

"We don't need it."

"I just want it." Reno picked at it a bit harder and caused it to burst leaving both of them covered in a thick greenish substance.

"Eeww…" Reno exclaimed, but he didn't mind being all dirty after he took the materia in his hands. Vincent just looked at him, quite upset.

"There you have your materia. Let's go before you blow the whole reactor." Vincent said. He unsuccessfully tried to remove some of the disgusting stuff from his hair and clothes as he made his way to the reactor's entrance.

The few people in the streets of the village ran in fear as soon as they saw them covered in that filthy substance. They silently returned to the chopper and left the area.

* * *

"So, where are you going now?" Reno asked Vincent when they arrived to the same spot where they had taken off in Edge a few hours earlier that day.

"Home."

"I'm going to Tifa's… I need a drink!"

"I need a shower."

Reno laughed. Vincent looked at him, still impassive.

"Ok… See you 'round, then."

"Hmph…"

Vincent made is way to the city and Reno got on the WRO truck that was waiting for them to arrive.

"To the Seventh Heaven, Nick!"

"You know, I'm not your driver… And the name's Mike."

"Oh man! There're some weird guys after me, y'know. Come on, give me a ride." Reno said while cleaning himself with a piece of cloth he found inside the vehicle. He knew Tifa wouldn't allow him in her bar looking like that.

Three hours after that, Reno was lying against the wall outside the Seventh Heaven, completely drunk.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Vincent finally arrived to his apartment. Most of the lights in it were off, so he supposed Lilah was already sleeping. The first thing he did was to take a hot shower. After that, he wrapped a towel around his waist and entered the bedroom. To his surprise, Lilah was not there and the bed was intact. He put his pajama pants on and checked on the baby's room. Riley was sleeping in her crib and Lilah was sitting in a small armchair next to it. She was sleeping too. He arranged the small blanket over his daughter and then turned to Lilah. She jumped from her seat because of his touch.

"Oh! I fell asleep here…" She said and yawned. "I'm glad you're back."

"Come on, let's go to bed."

Vincent closed his eyes and breathed the sweet scent of the woman lying next to him. After more than thirty years, he considered himself a happy man. Lilah placed her head against his chest and immediately fell asleep. He was more than surprised when he woke up the morning after lying in the floor. He was not even in his apartment, even the black suit he was wearing was not his. Vincent managed to get up, but it was hard because he felt completely dizzy. He laid against the wall and casually looked at his reflection in the window's glass next to him. The red hair and green eyes he was staring at were definitely not his.

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**A/N:** ... And this is only the first chapter. Things will get really messy for my two handsome leading men.

BTW, I wanna thank Live4Dance88 for betareading this and to RenzokukenZ for giving me some great ideas for the title of this story. I'm too dumb to make one up by myself XD

Did you like it? Did you hate it? Reviews are always welcomed!


	2. Reno's Fault

**A/N:** I know it took me forever to update. I was suffering severe block due to lazyness and other things that I have in mind lately, but the second chapter is finally here! Have fun!

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**Reno's Fault**

Reno suddenly woke up by the sound of a cell phone ringing next to his ear. He guessed it must have been about 9am. He just covered his head with a pillow and went on sleeping.

"Aren't you gonna answer?" A female voice asked him. He knew he had been drunk the previous night, and it wouldn't be the first time he had woken up in bed with a woman. He removed the pillow from his head and turned in curiosity to see who had been his last bedroom conquest. He felt all his blood drained from his face when he saw Lilah lying next to him. "What's wrong?" She asked again.

The cell phone had stopped ringing and a dense silence fell over both of them.

"What…? What am I…?" He said, then he coughed. His voice sounded so deep. "What am I doing here?"

She just smiled at him.

"How could you not remember how you ended up here? Maybe you were too tired last night. We can stay in bed for a few more hours if you want to." She said with a naughty smile across her face.

"But… What if someone finds us here?" Reno asked. He could already imagine Vincent kicking the door wide open, Cerberus in hand, ready to shoot. He coughed again. Why did his voice sound so different?

Lilah laughed.

"No one's going to come here, don't be silly." She came closer to him and kissed him. Reno kissed her back; after all, she was a very attractive woman. Lilah seemed to be about to take the situation to the next level when they heard a baby cry.

"What the hell…"

"Dammit! It's your turn now." Lilah said and returned to her side of the bed.

"Me? But, why?!"

"Because you're the father?!" Lilah was starting to get upset. "Vincent, it's ok if you don't want to go, I'll do it." She got up from bed and walked out of the room to see the baby.

"Vincent?" Reno muttered, confused. He sat on the bed and noticed how the locks of his hair were not red anymore, but raven black. He jumped out of the bed and ran around the room in panic. "Ok, Reno... This must be a dream... Yes, just a dream." He said to himself and tried to calm down. "Now… I need to get out of here."

He opened a drawer, picked up a pair of black jeans and a grey shirt, got changed and was about to leave the room when the cell phone started to ring again. He couldn't win against his curiosity and picked it up. He was very surprised when he saw his own number in the screen.

"Uh… Hello?"

"Touch her and I swear I'll kill you."

"Vincent? What the hell is going on? Man, this is crazy!"

"… I don't know. But now, I want you to get out of my apartment, away from my woman and child."

"But … What do we do about this?!"

"My current position is the Seventh Heaven. You better hurry. I'll think about something to do in the meantime." And after saying this, Vincent hung up.

Reno couldn't believe what was happening. He put the cell phone in his pocket and get out of the bedroom just to bump into Lilah, who was coming out of the baby's room.

"She's just hungry. Care to make some breakfast?"

"Uh… I can't, I need to go… Somewhere."

"Oh, don't tell me Reeve called you again."

"Yes! Reeve called… And he wants to see me right now. I have to go." Reno said quickly and continued walking from the hallway to the apartment's main door.

"You're forgetting something." Lilah said. Reno turned back to see what she wanted now. She was smiling at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What?"

"Your gun! You never go out without it."

"Oh… Right." Reno looked around. Luckily, the gun and the belt were hanging from a perch in the wall next to him.

"You're forgetting something else now."

"What now?" He said trying not to sound too rude, but he was getting anxious.

"My kiss! What's wrong with you today?" She walk to him and grabbed his hands. "Are you feeling ok?" She asked. Reno just nodded. Lilah wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "So… What time are you coming back today?"

"I don't know… I gotta go."

Reno let go of her and quickly get out of the apartment.

* * *

Vincent hung up the phone and laid against the wall.

"This can't be happening…" He muttered. Then, he walked out of the alley towards the main entrance of the bar, even though he knew it was closed. He just sat by the staircase. He stayed like that for a couple of minutes thinking about a way to revert the situation, his gaze fixed in the floor.

"We've been looking for you, turk."

Vincent looked up and his eyes met with two large men in dark suits.

"Sneaky Reno." The other man said, with a nasty smirk on his face.

"…Excuse me, but…" Vincent started, but was interrupted.

"Shut up! You're coming with us." Both men tried to force him into a black vehicle. Even though he was not feeling very well and didn't have his gun with him, he managed to defend himself and made clear that he wouldn't leave without giving a proper fight.

Vincent was cleaning a small amount of blood from his mouth when Reno arrived.

"I can't believe you already got me in trouble!" Reno said, as the stranger attackers turned to him.

"Reno!" Vincent said and threw him his rod. Reno caught it in mid air and, as soon as the situation allowed it, he slid Cerberus to its owner's reach. In no more than three minutes, the attackers were escaping in the same black car they intended to take Reno.

Both Reno and Vincent took a couple of seconds to recover their breath and looked each other in shock for a while.

"Lookin' good, uh?" Reno said finally.

"I don't think this is amusing at all." Vincent replied.

"Do you think it's funny being trapped in... This?"

"…What did you tell Lilah?"

"I told her Reeve called you, well… Me."

"Any inconveniences?" Vincent asked him shooting him a suspicious look.

"…No." There was no way he would mention he had kissed Lilah. Twice, actually.

"Good."

"What the hell's going on down there? Vincent? Is that you?" Someone said from the second floor window of the building in front of them. It was Tifa.

"It's ok, Tiffs… We're just leaving." Reno said, but as soon as Tifa heard Vincent referring to her in that way, she gave him a weird look and closed the window.

"Let's go talk somewhere else." Vincent said and they started to walk.

"What the hell happened to us?!"

"I have no idea… But I think it has something to do with yesterday's incident."

"Incident?"

"The fiend and the materia? Don't you remember? Because of you we ended up covered in that disgusting matter."

"Oh… Yeah, you may be right… Are you sayin' it's my fault?"

"… Yes."

"Well, you're probably right. So what do we do now?"

"Maybe we should retrieve the materia and take it to Shelke. I heard she's been experimenting with such things."

"Ok, sounds like a plan."

"Where's the materia?"

"How am I supposed to know? You have all my stuff!"

Vincent sighed and checked on his pockets. His patience was growing thin.

"It's not here. When did you last see it last night?"

"Oh, man! I can't remember, I was so drunk! Wait! I think I left it in the truck after I got cleaned from that monster's crap."

"… Let's head to headquarters, then. We need to fix this."

They made haste to WRO headquarters only to find out the truck that had taken Reno to the Seventh Heaven was gone missing the previous night. They had no other choice but to talk to Shelke as soon as possible.

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**Review, pleeeeease!!**


	3. Materia Hunters

**A/N:** Yeah... I know. It took me forever to finally update, but here it is! I hope you like it!

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Materia Hunters

Shelke's gaze shifted from Vincent to Reno for almost a whole minute until she did something completely unexpected: she broke into a laugh.

"What's so funny?! Reno yelled.

"Do I look like I'm joking? We need your help." Vincent said.

"So you say you're Reno, and that you are Vincent?" She said trying not to laugh again.

"Yeah, yeah, that's the nightmare… Can you fix us?" Reno said, rolling his eyes.

It took her a while, but she finally managed to stop laughing and calmed down.

"But… How did you two end up like this?"

"We're not sure, but I suspect it has something to do with an encounter we had yesterday with a monster. It was carrying a strange materia." Vincent explained as Reno inspected the place.

"A materia?" Shelke said, and turned to the computer screen behind her. "I've been reading some of my sister's investigation. It's about the effects of Jenova cells on materias. It seems that some of the alien cells were mixed with mako to improve reactor's functions. It seems that behind all this was…"

"Hojo." Vincent interrupted her.

"… Yes." She assured.

"The guy is already dead and he keeps on messing with you, uh?" Reno said. Vincent just looked at him angrily.

"Do you have the said materia here? Maybe I could find a way to revert this if I can examine it."

"We don't have it. Reno lost it." Vincent said.

"There's nothing I can do if I can't see it. I'm sorry." Shelke said and continued reading the information in the screen.

* * *

"So… What are you gonna do?" Reno asked, while trying to put his hair back for a hundredth time. Wearing his hair loose was definitely not his style.

"You mean, what are WE going to do? ...We need to find that materia." Vincent answered. They were already outside the WRO building and he was trying to figure out how to find that materia.

Vincent picked up Reno's cell phone to check what time it was. In that very minute, Mike, the WRO truck driver appeared. His clothes were torn and part of his face covered in blood.

"You!" He exclaimed and grabbed who he thought it was Reno by his shoulders. "I have a message for you, pal. You better watch your moves next time. Violet's husband is really mad at you. And he will keep looking for you… Next time don't get other people involved!" He said, let go of him and went straight inside the building.

"Wait!" Vincent said.

"Oh… Sweet Violet!" Reno said and smiled.

Mike looked really pissed, but he turned around to him anyway.

"Oh! I'm glad you remembered the name this time!" He said, sarcastically.

"We need something Reno, I mean I, left in the truck yesterday."Vincent explained.

"Bad luck, redhead! Those damn bastards took the truck. What I'm supposed to tell Reeve now?!" this time, he went inside the building and they lost sight of him.

"She's hot!" Reno said suddenly.

"Who?" Vincent asked quite confused.

"Violet, of course! Haven't seen her for weeks… Oh yeah!"

"At least now we know where the materia is. I guess it's time to pay a little visit to your girlfriend's husband."

"It's ok for me… You're the one they'll see as Reno! Good luck!"

Vincent closed his eyes and sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

* * *

Junon has always been a noisy and busy city, from the military posts to the stores. Edge was not a quiet paradise, but there was a big difference!

During the flight, Reno had briefed Vincent about his short but intense romance with Violet Miller, the beautiful young wife of a powerful businessman in Junon. It seemed that Reno got involved with her for the first time when she was still single, about five years ago. He met her again a few months ago, during a short period of time Reno had to stay in Costa del Sol body guarding Rufus Shinra.

"What can I say? I think she couldn't resist me!" Was Reno's comment before both of them got off from the helicopter. As soon as they were walking out of the military facility, they were 

intercepted by two tall men. They were dressed in dark suite, just like the ones they had fought that very morning.

Reno was about to get ready to defend himself, but Vincent stopped him.

"We don't want to disturb the citizens. Let's make it quick and take us to your boss." He said to one of the strangers. They just nodded and took Vincent and Reno inside of a black car.

After only a five minute ride, the vehicle stopped in front of a wealthy house outside Junon.

The unknown men led Vincent and Reno through the gates and then to an office right to the left of the main door.

"You watch them! I'll bring the boss." One of the men said and got out of the room.

"Do you know at least who Violet's husband is?" Vincent asked, trying to keep his voice down so the other guy guarding them wouldn't hear him.

"Nope… No idea." Was Reno's answer.

"Gentlemen… Welcome to my humble home!" A man in a white suite said from the office door. He seemed to be about fifty years old. His skin was slightly tanned and his hair short and brown. The man who was still standing next to Vincent made him stand up. "Reno, Reno… I've been looking for you. Ever since that encounter you had with my little Violet in Costa del Sol. My name is Adam Miller, and as you already know, I'm Violet's husband."

"You have something we need, Mr. Miller." Vincent said.

"Oh, really? What can it be?" Miller asked.

"We need the WRO truck back." Vincent answered.

"Yeah, the materia we need is inside of it." Reno said. Vincent just shot an angry look at him and turned to Mr. Miller once again.

"A materia? Oh yeah, that blue shiny thing that was in the back! I see the situation is even more interesting than I thought. I think this is going to be fun! If you two need this materia so badly, you'll have to do me a small favor for me to consider giving it back."

"Or we could just break our way out of here and steal it from you, dumbass!" Reno said. Vincent just rolled his eyes. How can this man be a turk! He was acting like an idiot!

"I think Mr. Valentine needs to learn some manners!"

"What kind of favor are you talking about?" Vincent asked.

"I'm glad someone here is smart enough to deal with me. I need you to go pick a small package for me. One of my men will give you the directions. Once I have it in my possession, I'll think about 

giving the truck… or the materia back. Never thought that actually keeping that silly car would be my winning move! Guess I'm on a roll today. So, gentlemen, what do you say?"

"How can we know if you're going to give us the materia afterwards?" Reno asked.

"I guess you'll have to trust me."

"It's a deal." Vincent finally said.

"What?!" Reno exclaimed.

"Good. Now I must attend some other business. See you later, and you better not disappoint me. Little Violet would be so sad if something happened to her friend, the turk." Miller said and left the room.

The same two men that brought them to the house now were taking them out of the place. They didn't bother accompanying them back to the city, they just left them outside the property and gave them a brown envelope.

"I can believe you're stupid enough to accept the deal!" Reno shouted.

"So I am the stupid one now. As far as I remember, it was you the one that told him we needed the materia." Vincent said, as he opened the envelope.

"…Well… Yeah, you're right, I screwed things up. But what if he doesn't keep his part of the deal?"

"We'll have to wait to find out. But at least now we know he's in possession of the materia." Vincent stopped for a while and took a piece of paper from the envelope. He read it and the put it back inside. "We'll need to use the chopper again. We're going to see the Weapon Seller in the Gongaga area."

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**Review!! Pretty please!!**


	4. Misunderstanding

**Misunderstanding**

"What do you mean 'the helicopter broke down'?" Reno yelled at the pilot.

"Yeah… I'm sorry, but it'd be dangerous to try and fly overseas under this condition. I think I can manage to fix it in three or four days if I find the right parts." The pilot said.

"We don't have three or four days!" Reno exclaimed.

"Nevermind… We'll find another way to get to Gongaga." Vincent said and walked away.

"Where are you going?!" Reno asked and followed him.

"To the nearest inn. I'll gather some information. We need a way to get to the Weapon Seller's shop as soon as possible.

"I know! Maybe we can find someone I know. I bet she can help us." Reno said looking as if he just had the greatest idea ever.

"You're not talking about this… Violet, am I right?"

Reno nodded.

"Go and try if you want to get both of us killed. Whatever happened between you and her, her husband knows it and he's just waiting for you to make one silly mistake to…" Vincent said and continued walking to the main street. "Besides, you're forgetting you're not actually looking like you use to. It's not going to work." He finally said, but he was interrupted when a young blond woman suddenly ran into him and hugged him tight.

"I knew you'd come! Just like you promised!" She said; her hazel eyes in tears. Her short, straight fair hair portrayed her gentle features beautifully.

Vincent didn't say a word and just looked at her.

"Violet! What are you doing here?!" Reno asked.

"…Do I know you?" She asked quite confused. Reno just sighed when he realized she wouldn't recognize him.

"Uh… Violet, it's dangerous for you to be around now. You need to go back home now." Vincent said trying to break the hold the woman had around him.

"But, Reno! I'm all ready to run away with you this time! I really mean it!"

Vincent looked at Reno. He noticed right away something different in his eyes. A slight trace of emotion, something he had never seen in the Turk's face before.

"He's right… It's dangerous for you to be here now. We're somewhat busy now, sweetie. I know Reno will come and get you when all this is over. We're in trouble now… I don't want to get you involved, but we may need of your help." Reno explained and walked closer to her. She was still surprised that the red eyed man was talking to her as if he knew her very well, and she tried to get some shelter in her lover's arms.

"Yes… I'll come back for you after we're out of this predicament," Vincent said, giving a quick look at Reno." But if you can help us get a boat, a ship or any other means to get to the Gongaga area, we'd appreciate it very much."

"…I don't know. I'm sorry. I know Adam has some ships, but I don't know where he keeps them. I'm so sorry!" She said and broke to cry once again, pressing her face against Vincent's chest.

"It's ok, babe. Please, don't cry." Reno said and got a hold of her hand.

"No! Don't talk to me like that, I don't know you!" She said, raising her voice, which was calling the attention of some people walking nearby.

"Don't worry… uh… babe. You need to get back home now. I'll come back, ok?" trying to sound like Reno was a difficult task for Vincent, but he was giving it a try. And he realized it had worked when he saw Violet was a lot more quiet and willing to follow every direction. "Now, go back to your husband and wait."

Violet nodded, gave him a light smile and walked away.

After she disappeared around a corner, Vincent heard Reno sighed in relief.

"Now, let's get moving. I think getting an airship here it's going to be difficult. Maybe we should get back to Edge now and ask Cid for a ride. I'll be way easier to get our hands in a car or truck than in a boat or airship here!" Reno said.

"You are right… I guess this woman makes you smarter."

"Shut up!"

* * *

Just as Reno had said, renting any type of means of transportation had been harder than expected, so they ended up buying a couple of train tickets and went back to Edge that very evening. Vincent didn't want Lilah to see him in that… Condition, and wouldn't take the risk of having Reno around his woman anymore, so he decided the best place to spend the night was Tifa's.

It was around 9pm when they finally got to the bar. The place was, as usually, very busy.

"What are you doing?" Reno asked to Vincent, who was standing next to the bar, waiting to talk to Tifa about their housing issue. "We're in a bar; let's have a drink while we wait for her."

"…I don't think it's appropriate…"

"Come on! We're IN A BAR! It'd be _inappropriate_ if we don't drink."

"…Ok."

"Besides, you're ruining my reputation. Two beers here, Tiff!"

"Don't tell me… A glass of wine for me, please."

"You two are acting so weird today!" Tifa said, as she gave him their drinks. "You never drink beer," she said to Vincent, "and you're never… uh… That polite!" She told Reno.

Vincent opened his mouth to reply, but she was already busy with another costumer.

As soon as they had the opportunity, they asked Tifa if they could spend the night in the place. She thought it was a bit odd, since Vincent's apartment was not very far and Reno didn't usually ask for permission to stay the night. She agreed anyway.

* * *

It was around midnight and the bar was almost empty. Reno and Vincent were still sitting at a table drinking the last sips of their drinks. As usual, Reno was kinda drunk. Vincent had drunk more than usual, but he never got drunk, not even when he was fond of that Malboro Rum.

"I'm sorry." Vincent said, while looking at the rest of wine in his cup.

"Sorry' bout what, man?" Reno asked, lying back in the chair.

"When you first told me about Violet, I thought she was only… Another girl for you. I noticed she's special when you looked at her today."

"Yeah! That babe makes me feel stuff. I don't know if it's love, but it's definitely somethin'. She asked me to take her away from that guy the last time we met, but she didn't show up when we were supposed to meet. I guess I was sort of relieved… That Adam guy is serious!"

"Hmph…"

"She's pretty, right?"

"Sure she is." Vincent said and sighed. He was getting tired of all the fluffy talking, which was not usual in Reno. He thought it must have been the effects of the alcohol and regretted the moment he put Violet as a topic in their conversation.

"My lil' Violet… One day I'll do something about it. Maybe I'll drink enough one of these days to steal her away and leave all this life behind… I'm sort of tired of my life sometimes."

Vincent finished his drink, got up and walked to the house in the back of the bar.

"Where're you goin'?"

"I'm going to bed… I'm neither a priest nor a psychiatrist to listen to your problems."

* * *

Yuffie was spending the night at the apartment to keep Lilah some company, but when Lilah heard from Tifa on the phone that Vincent was back in town that very night, she decided to go out. Riley was already sleeping and Yuffie was still there to look after her. She knew pretty well how to defend herself, so walking on the streets at a late hour was not a problem. She was decided to give Vincent a surprise and take him home. Anyway, she took a deep breath and ran back home as fast as she could after hearing that conversation. The moment she heard Vincent's voice, she decided to listen a bit more without being noticed, right behind the Seventh Heaven's main door. She couldn't believe what she had just heard from the man she loved. Who was that Violet? Has he been cheating on her all that time? She was not going to stay and find out.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry about the late update, I was suffering from author's block... Yeah, all this time!! But if you want me to update faster, you better click that little blue button and leave some reviews!

* * *


	5. Guilty

**A/N: **Yes... I know... Another late update. But, come on! I have a life! I go to work everyday, I play my videogames, I watch my favorite TV series... And days go by so fast! Anyway, I'm sorry I took so long to update, but the new chapter is finally here! YAY!  
MysticSpiritus beta read this, since Live4Dance88 has been away from msn for more than a couple of days now and I was too impatient to wait. Thankies, Mystic!! I'll take into account your advice.  
The Sacred and Profane, and RenzokukenZ will have to wait for their respective oneshots until I have another inspirational rush. Sorry, guys!

* * *

**Guilty**

Vincent woke up by the sound of Marlene and Denzel's laughs downstairs. He sat down in the bed as he yawned and stretched like he used to do every morning. It took him a couple of seconds to realize he was in the Seventh Heaven, away from the woman he loved and his little daughter ... and in someone else's body. He cursed as he noticed the red locks of his hair and lay down in bed once again; like wanting to go back and wake up again, but in his bed, in his apartment, in his own body, away from the nightmare he was living. He went back to sleep for a minute until he heard someone knocking at the door.

"Wake up, Reno! Breakfast's ready," Tifa said.

It was time to get back to reality, so he got dressed quickly and walked to the kitchen. There, he found everyone, including Reno, having breakfast. He sat at the table and Tifa quickly put a plate with pancakes in front of him, as she hurried the kids to have breakfast before the school bus arrived.

"It's ok if we don't catch the bus… Cloud can take us to school in his bike again!" Denzel exclaimed, very excited.

"Not this time, Denzel. Cloud is out in a delivery now and won't be back early today," she explained, and hurried the kids to finish their food. As he took a bite of his breakfast, Vincent noticed Tifa was being a bit distant to the one she saw as Vincent, being that Reno.

"So… What are you two up to lately?" Tifa asked Vincent, thinking he was Reno.

"We're… Running some errands, babe," Reno said. Tifa just rolled her eyes and looked at Vincent.

"We need to get in touch with Cid. We have to get to the Gongaga area as soon as possible," Vincent explained, quite briefly.

"Yeah, that was the plan, right?" Reno said, with his mouth full of food. He was really making Vincent look bad.

"I don't know what's wrong with you two. Reno is suddenly all polite and Vincent… I don't even want to think about it… Anyway, I talked to Lilah on the phone last night." She made a pause, expecting Vincent to say something, but Reno kept on being concentrated in his breakfast. "She told me you could send someone to pick some of your stuff over the apartment."

"What do you mean by send someone? Why can't I… I mean Vincent can't go to his own apartment?"

"That's not of your business, Reno. Besides, it not my place to tell that kinda stuff about them."

Vincent knew something was wrong in that very moment. He made haste and finished his breakfast.

"I'll go and get some of my stuff to the apartment to see what's happening… Behave yourself while I'm away." Vincent told Reno once Tifa was out walking the children to the school bus.

Reno just looked at him, sort of confused.

"Just… pretend to be me. And try to get in touch with Cid."

"Man, that sucks!"

* * *

The look in Lilah's eyes said it all. Something had happened.

"Reno, what are you doing here?" She said after opening the apartment's door.

"Are you alright?" Vincent asked her.

"Yes." She lied, but broke down immediately and started to cry. Instinctively, Vincent tried to hug her, but she pushed him away.

"Lilah, what happened?"

"Why don't you ask Vincent what happened?! Or is he too busy talking about that Violet?!"

"Violet? What do you mean?"

"I was there last night, when he told you about his feelings for that woman… I just don't understand! Everything was fine!" Lilah cried out and sat down in the couch. In that very moment, back in her room Riley started to cry too.

"May I?" Vincent asked her, offering his help with the little girl.

"Don't worry… Yuffie's with her." She said, somewhat confused because of his attitude.

"…I think you misunderstood a couple of things, Lilah… Vincent would never do such thing to you, I am sure."

"I heard him! He clearly said that she made him _feel stuff_… I can't believe it, that's not the man I fell in love with!"

Vincent kneeled in front of her and moved a sable lock of hair away from her face. "Please, don't cry."

"What do you think you're doing?!" There was someone standing in the short corridor. He looked out and noticed it was Yuffie, who was holding Riley in her arms. "She's all sad and you're already trying to hit on her?!"

"…That is not what…"

"Look… Lilah's not feeling well today, just take that to Vincent and go away." She said pointing to a bag next to the couch. It seemed that it contained some of his belongings.

He stood up, picked the bag up and walked away. It was not the right time to explain his situation.

As soon as Vincent walked out of the apartment, Riley started to cry again.

* * *

"Uh… Cid, this is Re… Vincent. How's it going?"

Tifa was willing to enter the kitchen when she heard Vincent talking on the phone. She was really curious about this weird behavior he was showing lately and decided to listen from the hallway a bit more. Besides, all this about Vincent cheating on Lilah was really weird, so she thought it was on her friend, as friend of both of them to know more about his matters.

"Yeah, it's really me… Would you do me a favor, pal? Vincent and I need to get to the Gongaga area as soon as possible, can you give us a ride? …What?! Yeah, I meant me and Reno… I'm so stupid today and I haven't even drank yet! So, can you take us over there?" Reno said as he slapped himself on the forehead.

This was really suspicious! Tifa crossed her arms over her chest and listened some more.

"Do what d'ya say, dude? …Perfect! See you then."

Reno put Vincent's cell phone in his pocket and walked out of the kitchen, without even noticing that Tifa was standing against the wall on the other side.

* * *

"Gongaga area, right? What are you two up to?" Cid asked as the Shera was taking off.

"Well…"

"Just business," Vincent replied, interrupting Reno before he gave away too much information… again.

"I don't think so." Someone said from the entrance to the dock area. Tifa had managed to enter the airship without being noticed. "I know you two are up to something fishy… Care for an explanation?"

Reno sighed out loud and looked at Vincent, who was really missing his high collar cloak to hide his face in.

Maybe it was time to give details about their current situation.


	6. Memories and Happenings

**A/N:** Yes… I know it took me forever to update again, but this time I really promise to update more frequently, and I never break a promise… Well, at least I try XD

Anyway, I decided that from now on I'll do this on myself, since I don't want to depend on betareaders anymore. Nothing against them, I mean, Live4dance88 and Mystic are good friends of mine and I really appreciate their help, but it takes me a while to finish the chapters and I don't want to wait any more time to upload them. Ok, that's why you may find some stupid mistakes in my chapters from now on and my excuse is that English is my second language. If you have any complains towards my use of language, you're welcome to flame, review… or both. I'll hate you anyway. Nah, I'm just kidding XD

My friend RenzokukenZ asked me to write a oneshot for him, but considering my creativity levels, I can only dedicate this chapter to him. I hope you like it!

* * *

**Memories and Happenings**

It was the third time she woke up that night. Violet looked to the space next to her in the bed she was lying in and sighed. Her husband was not there… Again. The blond woman took a look at her clock over the bedside table only to realize it was almost 6am. It was useless to go back to sleep, so she got up and put her slippers on. Like she used to do every morning, she opened the window of the bedroom and looked out. The bright dawn ocean reminded her of a special moment she shared with the red haired turk that had returned to her life some hours ago. It had been just an adventure back then; she knew it wouldn't last. Well, that's what she thought until she realized she had fallen in love. Violet could still hear his voice ringing in her ears, when he promised he could go from that very coast to the top of a mountain for her. Honesty could be seen in his emerald eyes, but she was the one that had decided to stay when she was supposed to run away with him. Fear had stopped her that day, but now that she was feeling brave enough to fight till the end, nothing would stop her.

"Mrs. Miller, your outfit for today and your breakfast are ready." The maid interrupted her thoughts. That single action made her question about her plans. Would she be able to leave that life behind for good?

"I can do it!" The blonde woman thought, without realizing she was saying it out loud too.

"I'm sorry?" The maid asked, confused.

"Oh! Nevermind! I'll be right with you."

"…Of course. Oh! And your husband said he won't be having breakfast with you today some-"

"Something unexpected happened again, right? Don't worry! I'm okay like this, I think."

After this response, Violet was left alone in front of the window of her room again. She closed the window and looked at her reflection in the glass. It was sort of hard but she gave herself a smile to start another day.

* * *

"So?" Tifa asked as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"… I don't know what you are talking about." Reno said as he looked away. He had screwed to many times in only a couple of days so he decided that this time he would keep his mouth shut.

"I know what I've heard!" Tifa exclaimed.

"So what did you hear?" Vincent said walking towards her.

"Uh… You two guys are acting all weird; I know something's going on!"

"I agree with Tiffs, Reno." Cid said as he let one of the crewmen take control of the airship. He walked down the stairs and faced Vincent as well.

"There's nothing to worry about… It's just too complicated right now." Reno finally said, even though he wanted Vincent to handle the situation. It seemed that the turk in him was hard to contain.

"Nothing to worry about? Lilah thinks you've been cheating on her and you look all cool about it? I thought you cared more about your family, Vincent, 'cause I do care about my friends!"

"I'd never do anything to hurt her!" The ex-Turk quickly replied. Tifa looked at him with her eyes wide opened. Even Reno was surprised when he saw himself talking in such way. It looked like Vincent had decided to finally let his friends know about their supernatural situation.

"Reno?" The female fighter asked looking at who she saw as such. Vincent shook his head no.

"I don't want to involve no one else in this, but you give me no choice… Something came out wrong in our inspection to that old mako reactor. We ended up like this." Vincent explained. Both Tifa and Cid looked at him confused.

"He means switched!" Reno interrupted. "This is me, Reno, in Mr. I-Look-Like-a-Vamp's body."

"W-what?!" Tifa and Cid said at the same time.

"Yes… I know it sounds totally insane, but it's the truth. We've been dealing with difficult matters lately and now we're trying to retrieve a materia to return back to normal as soon as possible."

"So… So that means… Oh, man this is a big bad misunderstanding!! You have to tell Lilah!"

"I know, but now is not the time to resolve my situation with her… Once we have got to normal-"

"Vincent… That may already be too late."

* * *

"I wish I could stay a bit longer, Lilah, but Tifa asked me to cover her in the bar for a while." Yuffie explained as she picked up her backpack from the couch.

"It's ok… I called Reeve and told him I won't be attending the facility today. I can stay home with Riley today since Vincent's away." She replied trying to fake a light smile.

"Aww… Lilah, I hate to see you this sad! Maybe is not a good idea to stay home today. If you go and train some newbies you'll get the chance of kicking one or two butts in the meantime! Believe me, it's a good way to shake the stress away!"

"I really appreciate your concern, Yuffie, but it's okay. I'll be fine. I just have to assume Vincent is not the person I met anymore. I mean, people change! I've changed a lot too. Life's not a fairytale and maybe this was meant to be from the very beginning."

The ninja looked at her friend with a sad grin in her face and pat her on the shoulder.

"Now you're being pessimistic! …I have an idea! Why don't you, Riley and me go to the Seventh Heaven. That way you can take your mind out of thinking too much and Riley will have some fun with the kids. You know how they love to play with her!"

Lilah looked at her, not sure of what she really wanted to make of her day.

"Come on! It's gonna be fun!"

"… Alright! I'll pack some of Riley's things and we'll meet there."

"I'm off then… Don't be late!" Yuffie said and left.

Lilah turned around and looked at her daughter, who was playing on the floor surrounded by cushions.

"She's right! Do you want to go and play with Denzel and Marlene today, baby?" She said as she crouched in front of the toddler. Riley just giggled happily. "Yeah, I think the same way. Let me get you changed first, okay?"

"Papa!"

Lilah's blue eyes widened after she heard her little girl saying her very first word.

"What?"

"Papa! Papa!"

Lilah quickly picked up her cell phone from her pocket and started to record a video of what Riley was saying. It looked like she was already had got the hang of it since she wouldn't stop saying 'papa' now. The proud mother smiled and only thought about sharing that special moment with Vincent, but she quickly remembered how mad she was at him.

"Why didn't you say 'Mama' sweetie? Daddy is not here right now." She stopped recording the baby and turned the camera to her own face. "See what you're missing? …And I guess we need to talk, right… Well, see ya!"

* * *

"And that's the reason why we're going to Gongaga now? To pick up I don't know what thing for that Miller dude?" Cid asked surprised after Reno finished telling his part of the story.

"It's the only way I see now to return to normality. The sooner we retrieve that materia for analysis, the better." Vincent answered.

"Yeah, so I guess….Whoa!!" The red haired turk exclaimed as he picked up Vincent's cell phone from his pocket. The little device was shaking in his hand.

"I think you have an email or whatever." He said as he tossed the phone to its owner.

Vincent walked to a silent corner of the bridge and checked the new message. Big was his surprise when he realized it was from Lilah. He felt his stomach sink when he saw and heard his baby girl speaking so enthusiastically. He couldn't help to let a shy smile come out of his lips. That smile quickly faded when he heard Lilah's words at the end of the message and it was replaced by that typical frown he had, but that looked so out of place in Reno's face. He felt like asking- no, ordering- Cid to return to Edge right away, but he knew it was not possible. He rewinded some seconds of the clip and paused on his lover and friend's face.

"I'm not giving up, Lilah. Not anymore."

* * *

**Note:** Yeah, I know it was sort of crappy, but it's the best I could do since my mind is totally focused in finishing Crisis Core tonight. And please, review! :D


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